Hi, I'm 5"9' and I weigh 140 pounds. I also have a very low bf ratio. I want to gain weight (to 165 pounds, atleast) and begin strength training. I want to gain muscle mass and develop strength - I'm not too worried about looks. What kind calorie intake and macro nutrient ratios should I be looking at? Also, what does bulking and cutting mean?

Start working out right away. The early strength gains will be neurological and will not really stimulate much in the way of muscle gains for about a month or so. I would first focus on cleaning up the quality of your food, eliminating all junk food and generally increasing the good food. Meat fish and eggs should be the bulk of your calories. If you increase your calories too fast it will mostly go to fat.

_________________Stu Ward_________________Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~HippocratesStrength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley_________________Thanks TimD

Start working out right away. The early strength gains will be neurological and will not really stimulate much in the way of muscle gains for about a month or so. I would first focus on cleaning up the quality of your food, eliminating all junk food and generally increasing the good food. Meat fish and eggs should be the bulk of your calories. If you increase your calories too fast it will mostly go to fat.

Ok, I will try. I was unsure if I should start working out right away because I didn't want to lose more weight (I've lost 10 pounds). I feel like I can't even play sports anymore otherwise I'll lose weight. I don't eat any junk food or saturated fats. So I should be on a high protein diet? Do you have any recommendations for macro ratios? What do you think my calorie goal should be? I was thinking around 2500 but even that seems a little high and I don't know if I should use weight gainers.

_________________Stu Ward_________________Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~HippocratesStrength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley_________________Thanks TimD

Start working out right away. The early strength gains will be neurological and will not really stimulate much in the way of muscle gains for about a month or so. I would first focus on cleaning up the quality of your food, eliminating all junk food and generally increasing the good food. Meat fish and eggs should be the bulk of your calories. If you increase your calories too fast it will mostly go to fat.

Ok, I will try. I was unsure if I should start working out right away because I didn't want to lose more weight (I've lost 10 pounds). I feel like I can't even play sports anymore otherwise I'll lose weight. I don't eat any junk food or saturated fats. So I should be on a high protein diet? Do you have any recommendations for macro ratios? What do you think my calorie goal should be? I was thinking around 2500 but even that seems a little high and I don't know if I should use weight gainers.

My rule of thumb for gaining is 20 cal/lb so 2800 in your case. For young skinny guys you could go up from there. Try to get your calories from real food. It's not that hard. 2800 is a cutting diet for me.

_________________Stu Ward_________________Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~HippocratesStrength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley_________________Thanks TimD

To answer your other question about "what is bulking and cutting", it basically refers to bodybuilders eating a ton during the offseason to really put on as much mass as possible. During this time they don't worry too much about fat gain, as it's an inevitable consequence of eating so much.

Cutting is when (usually pre-contest but really just anytime they want) they decide to burn off the fat they've gained in order to show off the muscle they've built, by drastically reducing calories and carbs, and increasing cardio.

It's a pretty old school approach, and it certainly works, but there's a downside too. For one thing, people usually way overestimate how much muscle they've built and underestimate how fat they've gotten. Leads to disappointment once they cut down. Also, a lot of people can't handle the idea of deliberately letting themselves gain bodyfat. They want to rock those hot abs year round. Also, it's not really very good for you to carry round loads of fat, regardless of how much muscle you have. Lots of people use the "I'm bulking" excuse to eat fast food five times a week and ruin their health.

If you are looking to get huge, an all out bulking assault where you don't care about fat gain is definitely the way to do it. For average joes like us though, you're as well just increasing your calories a bit and staying lean. There's always going to be a bit of fat gain when you're trying to get bigger, but if you're smart you can keep it to a minimum.

I just tell people like the OP, if eating is not a chore, then you're not eating enough. And, if you're gaining too much fat you're not eating clean enough or you need to think about cycling carbs.

It's much simpler if you just eat enough to actually grow, first. Then iron out the details. Unless you're already quite big, then making the scales go up should be straight forward. If this is not happening then I would just concentrate on "eating more". When your weight starts going up, then start messing with the macros, or cycling, or fasting, or whatever-way-you-want-to-call-it.

Most beginners asking this question just don't know how to eat, though. Otherwise, the question is, "i'm gaining weight but losing too much definition" - these guys are one step ahead if you ask me, tweak a few things here and there and they're on track, but atleast they know how to eat.

In short, stop worrying and eat loads. You should be an embarrassment to your friends and family due to the amount of food you can put away - make this your goal.

It's like building a new wall with bricks. You NEED enough bricks or you can't build the wall, and then you need some more. You know, for breakages. So, eat lots, then some more.

I would say your calorie level should be 3000 to 3500 per day based on your size. If you are getting plenty of protein, it's alright to eat a little junk food. Eating pizza a couple times a weeks is fine. Hamburgers are a good bulking food. Meat (including fatty meats, but not too much or it will make you too full to eat enough), eggs, peanut butter, and lots of carbs. If you are getting more than 200g of protein a day, that should do it, no need to go over 250. Drink full sugar chocolate milk with some whey powder added after workouts. It will replace your glycogen and give you quick protein which is important.

These are general recommendations, nothing set in stone. But getting from a lean 140 to 165, probably with a fast metabolism, is going to take something along those lines. Eating 2500 calories of rabbit food won't work. Give that a shot and let us know how it goes.

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